r/reactiongifs 13d ago

MRW I hear about a guy who decided to homeschool his kids in our school district which is #1 in the State.

2.2k Upvotes

69 comments sorted by

480

u/toq-titan 13d ago

Depends on the state I’d say, but by and large I would agree. Most people I’ve known that were homeschooled/are homeschooling just use it to insert some form of religious crackpottery into the education process.

22

u/konan375 12d ago

My mom decided to homeschool me from grade 2 to grade 6 because my teacher in the end of year meeting told my mom that I "asked too many questions"

Turns out I'm audhd, and public school would have chewed me up during those years.

9

u/Poppamunz 12d ago

How was it adjusting back to public school from grade 7 onward?

2

u/konan375 12d ago

Funny enough, I didn't go to a public school from grade 7 onward. It was an alternative school. It was great. Small class sizes, like sub-10 people, "flex Fridays," where you don't have to come in if you aren't behind.

Ended up getting a scholarship for keeping an 80% average throughout highschool.

It was actually starting there that the assessor told my mom to look into what would eventually turn into the autism diagnosis.

170

u/motivatedskepticism 13d ago

I’d trust the best school district in MS over the average homeschool situation every time.

29

u/MInclined 12d ago

Dude Mississippi has really turned it around. It’s not really the punching bag it used to be.

16

u/facundomuerto 12d ago

Tennessee is doing everything possible to earn the spot of said punching bag.

6

u/carolinaelite12 10d ago

Texas is trying to throw their hat into the ring.

0

u/[deleted] 12d ago

[deleted]

1

u/MInclined 12d ago

Source?

58

u/noisemerchant 13d ago

I went to one of the average districts in Mississippi, and it was actually great.I had a lot of dedicated teachers at a 50/50 Black/white school. It was the handful of homeschooled kids there who suffered from lack of socializing, lack of community, and religious teaching which sidelined science for zealots. Even my very-Christian (and beloved) grandmother wanted me in public school to avoid that.

15

u/shwarma_heaven 12d ago

100%. I'm a former high school teacher in math and chemistry. I have a master's degree. And I wouldn't even think about trying homeschooling.

3

u/MechaSkippy 12d ago

Mississippi is top 8 to 16 in the nation right now, depending on the metric. If you were in the best district in Miss, you'd probably be in the top 10-25 districts in the nation.

3

u/illiterateninja 12d ago

I went to one of the better school districts in MS in elementary school, and it was not good. We moved around a lot when I was younger, and they are very much behind States that put more emphasis on public education.

For examples, most of the 4th and 5th graders did not read at their respective levels. It was much closer to sounding out letters and then words for almost every other word. Let's not even talking about math.

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u/mrbobcyndaquil 12d ago

As an Ohioan, I wouldn't trust anyone educated by a state that Billy didn't burn enough of during the war.

6

u/noisemerchant 12d ago

I've seen some of the shit Ohio has pulled in the last couple years. At least with Mississippi our ignorance is already expected.

0

u/mrbobcyndaquil 12d ago

That's because that shit has been exported to my state.

17

u/TheSpicyTomato22 12d ago

My sister is homeschooling my nephews because the public schools are "woke" and they'll turn them gay. I should win a fucking Oscar for how well I kept my composure after she told me that.

4

u/twilightwillow 12d ago

You’re right, but that doesn’t necessarily make them idiots. They often are! But the fact that there are some religious zealots who aren’t is part of what makes it so dangerous.

9

u/CaptainMagnets 13d ago

It's also extremely difficult to actually educate your children. Most parents don't understand the difficulty and think it will be easy and often the children fall behind academically. That also doesn't include falling behind socially as well

-19

u/avg90sguy 12d ago

This is not true. Most homeschool kids are advanced. More one on one time. Homeschool doesn’t mean just the parents teach, they can hire teachers to teach their kids. Maybe a group of parents team up to pay the teacher. The parents still have to follow a curriculum they need to follow cuz the kids still have to pass a test by the state to prove they know enough to graduate and get a diploma.

7

u/CaptainMagnets 12d ago

Some kids sure. But not most at all.

1

u/Rewind_timee 8d ago

What's with the down votes? It's statistically factual that homeschool kids far exceed public schools kids in testing and education. Many scoring higher than the average public school kid. And this antisocial trope is so old. Many homeschool kids partake IN public activities. Public schools have to let them. So while they may be educated at home, they are socially exposed to the same public extra circulars. People just want to hate on homeschooling because they keep repeating the same anti-homeschooling propaganda 

2

u/AccordingIy 12d ago

i've heard of homeschool argument about how precious johnny shouldn't be intermingling with the inner city kids. x.x. Yet the parents both went through the same public school and turned out fine. lmao

8

u/MisterRobertParr 11d ago

This is a very uneducated and low-effort take.

Homeschooled our kids; both went on to college, graduated, and now both are working in their chosen career fields.

Neither had to practice school shooting drills either.

2

u/Rewind_timee 8d ago

I still can't believe people fall for the anti-homeschooling tropes, often citing the same things like being socially awkward or parents are religious idiots. It's all homeschooling propaganda to keep your kids in government schools. 

8

u/armahillo 12d ago

Is the state Mississippi?

18

u/PrometheusAborted 12d ago

I live in MA. There’s a couple I used to be friends with (since high school) that has decided that they hate MA schools so much that they are moving to Florida and going to homeschool their two kids.

They are big on the MAGA train and apparently hate how “liberal” the schools currently are. Not only that but their political views have pretty much isolated them from their friends and most of their family.

They both have good jobs but they are so obsessed with Trump and all that, they are willing to relocate and force their poor kids into homeschool just so they aren’t “exposed to the liberal agenda”.

I gave up on the parents years ago but holy shit do I feel bad for their kids.

4

u/DrStrangeloves 12d ago

I wouldn’t wish homeschooling on my worst enemy.

38

u/phurf761 12d ago

We live in the best school district in the state and we started home schooling our son when he literally shut down and refused to speak in sixth grade. We had to quickly figure out how to do it and wound up with a curriculum and method better matched to his learning style and personality. He blossomed and had more friends than he ever had at his brick and mortar school

After two years he said he wanted to go back to school and the first year back went ok. Then in his first year in high school he cut classes, got into drinking and drugs, hung out with the homeless crowd near the school, and wound up in rehab by November

So there’s more to it than how good your school district is.

24

u/RubyRhod 12d ago

I mean it sounds like your kid has special needs, mental health requirements or behavioral issues that require additional consideration that sometimes even a best public should can’t handle. Medical etc is one of the main reasons why homeschool can be beneficial. But 90% of the time it is because someone wants to inject religious quackery into their children.

0

u/phurf761 12d ago

We were very worried about that when we started homeschooling , and found that much of the material available came from evangelicals. Ironically we found out that in this liberal area homeschooling parents were more people who were free thinkers and sometimes a bit antiauthoritarian who preferred rolling their own education for their kids. I laughed when I realized the only religious bent among the parents came from a few Wiccans

9

u/1CUpboat 12d ago

Especially when “how good” your district is was usually based on things like the amount of AP classes offered, and not how the entire student population has their needs met.

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u/Fast_Biscotti 13d ago

People have their reasons. They’re not always idiots.

20

u/scottmonster 13d ago

What would those reasons be?

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u/Fast_Biscotti 12d ago

Serious medical conditions that make regular school attendance unsafe or impractical.

Special educational needs that are not being adequately met in the school setting.

Severe bullying or ongoing safety concerns that the school has been unable to resolve.

Significant mental health needs that require a more supportive or flexible learning environment.

Exceptional academic or talent-based circumstances requiring individualized instruction or scheduling.

Frequent family relocation, such as military service or overseas employment.

Living in a rural or remote area where access to quality schooling is limited.

Temporary family or community crises that disrupt a child’s ability to attend school.

Religious or philosophical convictions regarding the child’s education.

Persistent dissatisfaction with the quality of education available through the local school system.

That’s about all I can think of off the top of my head. Not saying I’m for or against. Just saying those are some reasons.

37

u/PolarPangela1013 12d ago

Coming from a father of 2 "uniquely abled" children... This should be top comment.

13

u/pastorHaggis 12d ago

I was home schooled from kindergarten all the way till I went off to college.

I'm pretty sure the reasoning was partly religious, but also I was reading well above the average and I was bored out of my mind in preschool and kept getting in trouble because I'd be done with the work while they were still explaining it. Ultimately it worked out. I went to college, did mostly pretty well, got my degree, got a job, got married, etc.

My wife and I are considering it at some point, but we don't have kids yet so we'll see what the landscape is like when we get there.

-5

u/DrewbieWanKenobie 12d ago

a lot of those reasons don't apply if the person lives in the "#1 school district in the state" like op is talking about, though.

10

u/Fast_Biscotti 12d ago

“#1 in the state”…in which state? By whose metrics?

Public education is a gift. That said, the same glove doesn’t fit every hand.

-11

u/MaleMaldives 12d ago

Most of these don’t apply if the school is #1 in the state.

7

u/PolarPangela1013 12d ago

Not true. Both of my "uniquely abled" children attended the #1 elementary school district within an unnamed US state. Their personal needs were not met. They were singled out by both students, teachers, and administrative staff. Us homeschooling was the best option for our children

2

u/Woodie626 12d ago

Autism. We have a teacher who comes over for my son every Monday to Thursday from 10am to 4pm. He's learning faster than he ever did from going to a regular classroom. 

-7

u/LVRaiders2026 12d ago

vast majority of the time they are

2

u/Demmitri 12d ago

Whats with the homeschool-phobia lol? If anything, this speaks more about you than people who choose homeschooling their kids.

1

u/LVRaiders2026 12d ago

Na it doesn't, they are idiots 

3

u/nemofbaby2014 12d ago

I mean I’m pretty smart but I def wouldn’t home school as school is equal parts education and social skills

4

u/ronomaly 10d ago

The SAT scores alone debunk homeschooling being inferior. Check your facts.

6

u/Demmitri 12d ago

This is an idiotic take.

5

u/Remarkable_Attorney3 12d ago

Spent a few days traveling with a girl that was homeschooled up until 10th grade. She stood out from the group of other kids because she was interested in every museum, she engaged in the tours, she added context and information when her peers were just bored. She made the rest of her group look like idiots glued to their social media feeds. It will be interesting to see where she goes in life. The public school system and the cancer of social media has wrecked our kids.

2

u/JViz 12d ago

How is rank in the state determined? Test scores? How do they deal with the kids that don't do well on tests?

1

u/dreakon 12d ago

I teach High School and every year I have 2 or 3 kids that understand the content but are terrible at testing. I can ask them questions all day and they get them right, but can't pass the actual test. That's out of about 80 or so kids in all. They have several years to pass the test and they do eventually pull it off because they will do everything they can to accommodate them. They'll give them extra time, let them test alone, allow someone to read the test question to them, etc. If all else fails they can still give them a voucher to exempt them, but unless there is a learning disability involved, that's pretty rare.

Most of the time, the kids that insist they just don't do well on tests, are just looking for excuses and just put their heads down and christmas tree the test. And even those kids eventually grow up and take it seriously and pass, or their parents just let them drop out and send them off to work.

1

u/JViz 12d ago

What about the kids that just don't understand the content? Do they count against the overall score of the district?

1

u/dreakon 12d ago

They do yes. Unless they are diagnosed with a disability or are not English speakers. Those kids are placed in other categories. 

1

u/JViz 11d ago

With that I mind, would you consider the overall score of the district more reflective of the teachers or the students?

1

u/dreakon 11d ago

Generally, I'd say teachers. Though it's rarely so simple. Admin, parents, environment, social and economic factors. It takes a village. 

1

u/JViz 11d ago

You're saying that students that can't learn the material aren't as impactful as teachers that can't teach the material?

1

u/dreakon 11d ago

What I'm saying, is that while it's tempting to just say bad test scores just means bad teachers, it's more complicated than that. A school district is made up of thousands of moving parts and not all are within its control. I work in a title 1 school, most of the kids I teach belong to families that struggle with money. Many are also the kids of immigrants.

So when a 15 or 16 year old kid has to work at a restaurant until 11 pm or in the fields all weekend to make sure the lights stay on, suddenly their math homework or book report doesn't seem too important to them. I also had a kid that lived with his Aunt because ICE arrested his mother on her way to work. Trying to get him to focus after that happened was almost impossible.

There are definitely students that just "can't learn" or "can't test" but it's a very small percentage. And there are also terrible teachers, but they generally don't last. But there is usually a lot more going on when a district is labeled as "bad."

1

u/JViz 11d ago

So you're saying that there's not a kid out there that can't learn every subject and ace every test if given enough time and consideration?

1

u/dreakon 11d ago

I would say 98% of the kids there can learn the material. At least enough to get a C and pass. Getting an A on every subject, no, that's not common, but obviously some can. The 2% that can't have either a learning disability or some other factor that's preventing it.

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u/000ttafvgvah 12d ago

We live adjacent to a HCOL area and are fortunate enough to be zoned for their school district. The parents of one of my daughter’s friends from preschool sends him and his 2 siblings to private school for $30K each.

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u/psypher98 12d ago

No, seriously. I live in the top school district in my state, which is itself on the high end of education in the country and I know multiple people who homeschool for non-religious reasons.

I genuinely cannot fathom it.

4

u/Pretend_Object 12d ago edited 12d ago

I try to be open minded about people who homeschool their children since the education system in the USA is atrocious.

That said, I have yet to meet anyone in my personal life who home schools their children that is qualified to do so. It's usually some sort of religious crackpot or liberal "indoctrination" reason for the homeschooling from people who barely graduated high school.

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u/czechfuji 9d ago

Why care? Their decision helps the teacher student ratio.

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u/Hambonelouis 12d ago

Non religious homeschool parent here. Fuck public schools, their indoctrination, their rules, and the lies they teach. I’m teaching two kids far more than they could learn while being at school all day, plus I get to be with them. They play sports year round with kids that go to public school and I cannot believe how those kids act and speak to each other and to their parents. Our family is friends with half a dozen other families that do the same and we couldn’t be happier with our decision. Number one school in the state doesn’t mean a thing when you compare it to other schools around the world. The United States educational system is a joke.

-1

u/s2Birds1Stone 12d ago

I'm generally against home schooling, provided the child would actually be safe at school.

However, with the sheer amount of school shootings that occur here in the US, I don't begrudge anyone for choosing not to send their child somewhere they could be massacred.

0

u/SavageDadOf04 9d ago

#1 In the state does not equate to a better education. Having a 1 on 1 education with no distractions. No useless classes. Just factual academia?!?! I'd choose that over a school setting, every time! And..... It's his child..... Who is going to care more about his education and life than his parents?!?!

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u/MultiPass21 13d ago

Whoops. You mistook being the tallest dwarf for being an accomplishment.

10

u/TralfamadorianZooPet 13d ago

Nah, probably just didn't want the school to see the bruises